Myanmar, China sign hydropowr
agreement

Yangon - Myanmar and China
have signed an agreement for a 600-megawatt hydropower
project on the Shweli Rive in northeastern Myanmar
near the Chinese border, Myanmar state-run media
reported Monday.

Representatives of the two sides signed
the agreement at a ceremony in the country's new
capital Maypyitaw on Saturday, the New Light of
Myanmar reported.

The Shweli No. 1 Hydel Power Project
will be implemented about 27 kilometers southwest
of Nahkam, sa small town in Myanmar's northeastern
Shan State, near the border with China's Yunnan
Province.

The project, after completion, would
boost 4,022 million kilowaatt hours of electricity
annually to Myanmar's heavily overloaded national
grid system, the paper said.

No other details of the project were
reported.

Military-rulled Myanmar faces constant
power shortages as consumption has increased 3.7
times while the installed power capacity has increased
only 2.5 times over the past two decades, according
to official figures.

The country has an installed capacity
of 1,701 MW abut the plants actually produce around
1,000 MW most of the year due to unstable water
levels at dams.